Sponsorised links
This month
photo drive
I will be taking the photos to Texas Children's Hospital today. You guys are so amazing that when I called the Volunteer Services director and told her about the response, she informed me that because of your generosity, she's going to be able to distribute these not just for the holidays, but throughout the year. Think about that: you guys made it possible so that the spirits of sick children will be lifted throughout 2010.
December 2009
moomah
"A place of sweet whimsy, wonder and warmth, Moomah is a creative playscape, a cozy cafe, a living classroom, a quiet hideaway, an art oasis, your neighborhood meeting spot. Your favorite place to be together, and a place for your child to simply be."
underlying beauty
"* Enjoying the feeling of relief when some things are over and you made it through."
peace of wild things
"when despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds."
Sponsorised links
November 2009
monday note
every monday for the last year my love has written me a special note. i laid them all out on the floor tonight and read them all again.
and then i realized... every monday, for the rest of my life, i'm going to wake up excited to read his note. and if we're lucky, and we live for another 50+ years, i'll be the receiver of over two thousand love notes.
not bad huh? :) i think i'll keep him.
moments & memories
""she held dear her collection of moments and memories."
how true it is. our lives are a patchwork of moments....."
abc card
We have a birthday tradition in our family we’ve been doing since we were kids. We go around the dinner table and each person takes a letter of the alphabet, and we say something nice about the birthday girl/boy. A is for Artistic! B is for the Beautiful! We go around and around the table until we get to Z
October 2009
one step at a time
artist and professor horst glasker painted these 112 steps in wuppertal, germany to convey a different emotion or behavior associated with relationships. some examples are "to forgive", "to cuddle", "to offer resistance", and "to seduce."
inspiration method
“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” -Vincent van Gogh
September 2009
love thursday: 24 simple ways to show love in the next 24 hours
1. Buy coffee for the guy standing behind you at the coffee shop.
2. Open the door for someone before entering yourself. It doesn't matter if you're a girl and he's a boy, or you're a boy and she's a girl, or you're both boys, or you're both girls. You can do it.
3. Send a quick email to someone you haven't heard from in a while. It can just say, "Hey, I was thinking about you. I hope you're well." Trust me, it will make her day.
4. Send a small, handwritten note -- via regular mail! -- to someone far away. It can just say, "Hey, I was thinking about you. I hope you're well." Trust me, it will make his day.
5. Give someone flowers, just because. They don't have to be expensive. The blossom above was part of a grocery-store bouquet that cost $3.99. The recipient really isn't going to care that it wasn't expensive. I promise.
6. Invite someone to your home. Have something baking in the oven for them when they arrive.
7. Light a candle and think of someone who is going through a rough time. Silently offer them good thoughts/prayers.
8. Pick a charity. Give something.
9. Buy a magazine subscription for a friend out of the blue.
10. Give blood.
11. Prepare someone's tea. In my opinion, it's a wonderful act of love to not just put the hot water and a teabag in front of a friend, but actually prepare and steep the tea for them.
12. Tell a child -- or someone who is struggling with self-esteem -- how great you think they are. And mean it.
13. The next person who serves you a meal at a restaurant, or helps you in a store, or sells you your morning newspaper, look him in the eyes, smile, and say "thank you" with as much sincerity as you can muster.
14. Give someone a heartfelt hug. Just because.
15. Start a hopeful revolution: leave a hope note somewhere. Extra points if you leave it on the windshield of a stranger's car.
16. Offer to cook a meal for someone.
17. Offer to give someone a break -- babysit, hire a maid service for them, or even straighten her house yourself.
18. Clean out your closet. Give the gently-used clothing you no longer want to a shelter.
19. Take a photograph of something beautiful. Send it to someone, with the note: "This reminded me of you."
20. Give someone something of yours -- a book, perhaps, or a small trinket -- with no expectation of return.
21. Blow out a candle. Make a wish on someone else's behalf as you do it.
22. Make a short list of the things you love about someone you love. Leave the list where they can find it.
23. Make a date to have coffee or a glass of wine with an old friend.
24. Say "I love you." Mean it.
August 2009
once more, with feeling
"love how time seems to move differently at the beach. how i can sit on the beach for hours and the day seems to melt by like honey. how i can spend an entire day looking out over that ocean, laying in that sand, eating sandwiches smushed from the cooler, painting, swimming, gathering rocks (don't get me started on the beach rocks!), walking, talking, napping, reading, looking out at the ocean some more, and suddenly the sun is starting to set and the day has gone by in what feels like an instant. i love that. all of it."
ode to friday
i love you because you are the day that simon drives me to work. (and the day he buys me a scone, too. )
i love you because a fine glass of wine or cold beer awaits me after work.
i love you because you are the day that new illustrations are posted here.
i love you because you remind me to turn off my iphone, shut down my laptop, and just be.
On taking the next step
There is so much about this crazy life to be grateful for. So much goodness. So much support. So much love. Even when the steps take great effort, and the breath is labored, there is beauty unfolding.
In shadow and in light.
Verses for Daily Living
Following the Breath
Breathing in, I calm my body
Breathing out, I smile
Dwelling in the present moment
I know this is a wonderful moment
Breathing in, I know I am breathing in
And breathing, out I know
As the in-breath goes deep
The out-breath grows slow
Breathing in makes me calm
Breathing out brings me ease
With the in breath, I smile
With the out breath, I release
Breathing in, there is only the present moment
Breathing out, it is a wonderful moment
In, Out
Deep, Slow
Calm, Ease
Smile, Release
Present moment, Wonderful moment
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
淡水的茉莉花園&手作陶
鳳珍,前花草遊戲雜誌副主編,我不常見面但很有得聊的朋友,在這不景氣人人緊守工作崗位的時候,選擇了牽著腳踏車,開起她的“茉莉花園“
在哪裡?淡水榕堤餐廳附近 每個星期五
